


Wanting to Be Helped by Binding Ties

by mallardeer



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Found Families
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-18
Updated: 2017-08-04
Packaged: 2018-12-03 14:37:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11534289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mallardeer/pseuds/mallardeer
Summary: Kara is determined to make Lena a part of their family. We start with James. Later, there is some Kara/Lena romance.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> It is very important to me that James and Lena become friends, thank you.

She hates these events—hates them. Why does she even go? Why is she still so intent on rehabilitating her family’s image? Nothing she can do can possibly erase all the harm that Lex and Lillian have done. But if she doesn’t keep trying, she doesn’t know what will become of her. 

And so, whenever some rich moron throws a fundraising gala, invites all the most prominent people in National City, and somehow an invitation finds it way to her desk, she goes. One of the simplest things to do is throw her brother’s money at good causes, even if she has to attend functions like this. 

This particular rich moron has actually sprung for the good wine, and so after forcing herself through as much small talk as she can stand, she takes up residence beside the bar. “Ms. Luthor,” the bartender says, with a smile, handing her a glass. 

“Thank you very much,” she replies, her own smile genuine this time. 

He sees her at most of these things, doing her level best to be an upstanding member of the community. Before, he hardly paid attention, already positive it was an act, so sure he knew exactly what anyone named Luthor would be up to. He had worried that Kara, like Clark, would suffer for giving her the benefit of the doubt—as Clark had always done for her brother. But… When things had gotten bad, time and again, she had risen to the occasion. 

And no one but Kara had ever seemed to give her any credit for it.

So tonight, when he sees her sink against the bar only an hour into the evening, he straightens his tie and heads over to join her. “These things are pretty painful, huh?” he says affably, and she startles, looking up at him with wide eyes before her schmoozing mask settles back onto her face. 

“Oh, well, I suppose money can’t buy wit or intelligence,” she sighs, and he smiles, noticing her wine glass is empty. 

When the bartender hands him one, he hands it to her, and the smile he gives her now is real. “Thank you, James,” she says easily, and he grins without even realizing it. 

She is warmer than he’d expected, and is completely happy to talk about the latest LCorp project to come out of R&D. As she describes her hopes for using it to change the community, her mask disappears, and her eyes shine with enthusiasm. This must be the woman that Kara knows, he realizes thoughtfully. 

He finds himself fascinated by her, and science and tech stuff has never been his thing. When he mentions sending Kara over for an article, he is surprised to see her blush. 

“It’s not quite ready for press yet, Mr. Catco,” she says, recovering herself quickly, and he chuckles. “But yes, I’d be happy to talk to Kara when it is.”  
  
“Great,” he says, tapping his wine glass to hers, and they drink. 

“Do you think they’re actually serving food at this thing? I haven’t seen any,” she complains, reminding him not a little of Kara. 

“Come on. I’ll show you where they hide the good hors d’ouevres,” he offers, taking her elbow, and she smiles and allows him to escort her. 

They spend the rest of the evening together, more or less hiding by the bar. Lena watches as the fine citizens of National City barely manage to say hello to either of them and realizes that James, one of three non-white men in attendance, might feel similarly out of place. 

He just seems to be better at hiding it. Because while she knows exactly how false her smile and cheery small talk ring, no matter how she seems to try, his act seems genuine, effortless. She watches him and drinks too much wine and wonders why the world works the way it does. 

At the end of the night, he guides her to her waiting car, easily covering up her unsteady steps. “Are you all right, Lena?” he asks softly, opening the door for her. 

“Quite all right, thank you, James,” she says, trying not to be brusque, but she still doesn’t know how to handle another person’s genuine concern.  
  
“Good.” He smiles that gentle, affable smile. “Thanks for making tonight bearable.”  
  
“My pleasure. And…same.” She smiles and ducks into the car. He carefully closes the door, and her driver heads for home. 

\--

Quite possibly the last thing Kara expects to see on the gossip pages she peruses on her phone every morning is an image of Lena and James, arm-in-arm, leaving some gala the night before. She nearly chokes on her cereal as she reads some nonsense about a possible romance. 

Before she can stop herself, she’s called Lena, who answers on the second ring. “Good morning, Kara,” she says, sounding amused to hear from her so early.  
  
“Uh, good morning!” Kara replies, realizing she has no good way of demanding an explanation of the picture she’s seen.  
  
When she doesn’t follow her greeting up with anything, Lena chuckles and says, “Kara, have you seen the _Daily Planet_ gossip page this morning?”  
  
“Yes,” Kara admits. “I’m sorry, it’s none of my business, but I was surprised. I didn’t know… James never said…” She trails off, feeling foolish.  
  
“We merely commiserated over how tiresome we find these fundraising galas. He walked me to my car when we realized I’d had slightly too much wine. And he let me go on and on about our latest project.”  
  
“Oh!” Kara grins, delighted. “That’s wonderful. I know how much you both hate all the phony schmoozing. And now you can do it together!” She practically claps her hands, gleeful that two of her favorite people are now becoming friends. 

Lena laughs, but Kara knows that laugh, and it’s all affection. Her heart warms, just thinking about Lena not being so lonely anymore. 

“Yes, it was very nice to have an ally,” Lena says.  
  
“You know, if you ever don’t want to go to these things alone, I’d be happy to go with you,” she offers without thinking, and then chokes a little as a silence falls.  
  
“That’s very kind of you, Kara,” Lena manages, and Kara can feel her face flush. “I wouldn’t want to torture you with any of these endless nights.”  
  
Kara laughs, a little forced. She realizes she just offered to be Lena’s date to these functions, and she knows it was probably not…wise. But she plows on. “Well, then just take me somewhere fun to make up for it,” she says winningly, and that same silence falls again.  
  
Lena braces herself against her kitchen counter. Twice now in the space of two minutes, Kara has basically told her to ask her on a date. But does she realize she has? Kara is so open and easy with her affection and admiration; there never seems to be any hidden motive in anything she does. She could very simply just be offering to accompany Lena, to spend time with Lena, as a friend.  
  
“Kara,” she says, and then trails off. But she finds her courage after only a moment. “Let me take you somewhere fun first, so you can see whether or not an endless night of old men staring at your boobs is worth it.”  
  
Kara giggles, and then the silence descends. “Well. I’m free tonight,” she says, and her voice sounds caught in her throat a little.  
  
“Are you?” Lena asks playfully, though her mouth has gone suddenly dry. “Well, would you like to get dinner, then? I know a place I think you’d like.”

“I would love to,” Kara practically squeals, and Lena’s heart actually flutters.  
  
“Eight o’clock?” Lena offers.  
  
“It’s a date,” Kara replies eagerly, and they both stutter into silence, before making excuses about getting ready for work and saying goodbye. 

\--

“Is it a date?” Kara worries, tugging on Alex’s shirtsleeve.  
  
“Kara, you’re going to make me screw this up,” Alex mutters, yanking her arm away as she picks up a vial.  
  
“How do you know if it’s a date?” Kara says, ignoring her sister’s complaint.  
  
“She asked you out to dinner. You’ve been dancing around this for months,” Alex says, managing, with a Herculean effort, to be patient.  
  
It’s not as if she’d been exactly gifted at figuring out when a woman was interested in her romantically either. But watching Kara go through it without being able to admit it and knowing she couldn’t force her to admit it had been…painful. But now Kara’s all out in the open, talking about how pretty Lena Luthor is, how much she likes spending time with her, and whether or not all those times they’d gotten brunch together or drinks after work counted as dates. 

Alex can’t decide which experience is more painful.  
  
“We’ve gone out together before, but this feels different,” Kara says nervously.  
  
“Then it is,” Alex replies, carefully adding a drop of her vial to the graduated cylinder to her left. 

“But what if… What if it’s not different…for her?” Kara asks, her voice dying in a little squeak.  
  
Alex sighs, gives up her project, and pushes her sister out of the lab. “Just talk to her. Tell her you’d like it to be a date, if she’s interested.”  
  
“But what if she isn’t? And I lose my friend?” Kara chews her bottom lip worriedly, and Alex’s heart pangs a little.  
  
She reaches up and smooths Kara’s rumpled hair. “If she’s your friend, you won’t lose her. It might be hard to be around her for a while, but if she’s important to you, then it will work out.”  
  
“Okay,” Kara says uncertainly, and Alex tries to smile reassuringly. 

But then something occurs to her. “Did you ask her out on a date because _The Planet_  thinks she’s dating James now?” she asks slyly, and Kara yelps.

“Goodbye, I hate you,” she says, and practically flounces out of the DEO.  
  
One minute later, Alex’s phone buzzes with a text from Kara. “I’m sorry, I don’t hate you,” plus seven heart emojis. Alex smirks and sends back one heart emoji.

  
Romance will never be Kara’s strong suit, but at least she can’t stay mad at her sister. 

\--

Kara is distracted for the rest of the day at Catco. She breaks two mugs, and Snapper reams her about copy editing no fewer than four times. At the end of the day, she finds herself hiding from him in James’s office, head in her hands. “So it’s going well with Snapper these days, huh?” James teases, and she sighs.  
  
“He is…an actual nightmare. James, do you think Lena likes me?” she blurts, and he merely blinks at her. “You talked to her all night last night.”  
  
“Mostly about the stuckup rich people we always seem to find ourselves around,” he says, frowning. “Kara, of course Lena likes you. I think you’re basically her only friend.”  
  
Kara sighs, but then perks up. “But you like her now, right?” she asks eagerly, and James laughs, nodding.  
  
“She’s certainly nothing like her brother,” he says. “And she made last night kind of fun, even.”  
  
Kara beams at him. “This is the best news. Winn already likes her because they’re both huge nerds, and now you like her. I just have to find something she has in common with Alex!”

James smiles, shaking his head. “You’re a good friend, Kara,” he says, and her face falls at the word ‘friend’.

“I am, aren’t I?” she murmurs to herself, and then glances at the clocks on the wall. “Oh, shoot, I’m late,” she says. “See you tomorrow!”

With that, she runs out of the office and flies home to change. She’s supposed to meet Lena downtown at eight, and her Catco clothes just aren’t going to cut it. It’s lucky, really, that she doesn’t have time to agonize over an outfit, so she throws on a yellow sundress, fixes her hair, and speeds to the address Lena had given her. 

It’s a warm night, so Lena is waiting for her outside, nervously checking her phone. “Hi,” Kara says breathlessly, and the smile Lena turns on her makes her heart race. 

  
“Hi,” Lena replies. “You look beautiful,” she says, practically gushing, and Kara knows her face is turning red.  
  
“Thank you,” she stammers, pushing at her glasses. “Um, so do you,” she says weakly, though it is completely true. Lena’s long dark hair is down, falling past her shoulders, and she is wearing a deep blue dress that is beyond flattering to every part of her. 

“Shall we?” Lena says, offering her arm, and Kara bashfully takes it.  
  
“Wait. Lena, I just… I’m not good at these things, ever, so… Is this, um, an actual date?” she asks, and then closes her eyes because she cannot deal with how lame she just sounded.  
  
“Kara,” Lena says gently, and waits for Kara to open her eyes. “Yes,” she tells her, and Kara’s shoulders sag in relief.  
  
“Good,” Kara says brightly. “I just…needed to make sure we were both on the same page.”

She moves to head into the restaurant, but Lena stops them this time. “Always ask me if you’re not sure we’re on the same page,” she says seriously, and Kara nods. 

“Right, I will,” she promises, and Lena smiles at her before leading her inside. 

For a few minutes, Kara feels nervous, almost giddy. Yes, this woman is probably her closest friend—other than Alex—but everything feels different tonight. Lena sits across from her and picks up the menu, looking so calm, that Kara boggles to think of what must be going through her mind. To distract herself, she looks at her own menu, and then barely suppresses a squeal of delight. “Lena! This place is all dumplings?” she asks, and Lena smiles sweetly at her.

“I knew you’d like it,” she says, and Kara beams at her.  
  
“Thank you,” she says, shy again, and Lena reaches across the table to squeeze her hand.  
  
“Relax, Kara. We’ve done this before, haven’t we?” Lena says gently, and Kara nods slowly.  
  
“How long…have we been dating without my knowing?” she asks, and Lena laughs, but it’s that laugh that Kara loves, the one that means Lena is delighted by her instead of baffled.  
  
“This is our first date,” she promises. “It’s not a date unless both of us know it, right?”  
  
“That makes sense,” Kara says thoughtfully. “I’m sorry it took me so long to realize that I liked you, as…something other than a friend.”  
  
“Never apologize for that,” Lena insists. “We got to the same point, together. And I am very glad.”  
  
Kara blushes and smiles and ducks her head, but soon looks back up at Lena, who is gazing at her steadily, affection all over her usually guarded face. And Kara’s heart actually skips a beat.  
  
“I’m glad too,” she says, and Lena smiles. 

The waiter comes by to dispel any lingering awkwardness, and Kara sets down the menu and says, “One of everything please.” He blinks at her, surprised, and then looks at Lena. 

"You heard the lady,” Lena smirks. “One of everything please.” And she orders a bottle of wine. 

After that, it’s just like any other night out with Lena, and Kara relaxes and tells her about her unfortunate spats with Snapper, setting her laughing. When the food arrives, Kara tries her best not to inhale it—and to actually save some for Lena—but she mostly fails. 

“I am the worst date,” she realizes, and Lena just laughs.  
  
“Hardly,” she says. “It’s very nice to see you enjoy yourself.”  
  
“I am sorry I ate all the food,” she says, abashed, and Lena shakes her head.  
  
“I managed to steal about four dumplings from you,” she says, and Kara laughs. “I knew what I was getting into, taking you here.”  
  
“Well, in that case, I’ll have one more of everything,” she jokes, but Lena just nods.  
  
“If you’d like to. I didn’t get to try the chicken and red curry one,” she says, but Kara shakes her head.  
  
“No, no that’s already… I mean—”  
  
“Please don’t worry about the money or anything, Kara. I have too much of it anyway.” Lena smiles winsomely, and Kara tries not to feel awkward.  
  
“Well, maybe just a few more orders,” she gives in, and charms the waiter ordering four more plates of various dumplings. 

They talk and laugh easily now, much as they always have. Lena gives her a brief overview of LCorp’s latest innovation, and Kara is eager for more. “Off the record?” Lena teases, and Kara pretends to scowl.

“Everything is off the record unless I’m actually recording, Lena,” she says.  
  
“I know, sweetheart,” Lena says gently, and Kara flushes at the pet name. “Let’s not talk about work, though, right now. I’ll tell you about it another day.”  
  
“Okay,” Kara says agreeably, and holds out the plate of red curry dumplings. “Take as many as you like before I eat them all,” she warns.

After their plates have been cleared away and the wine has been drunk, Kara starts wondering where they go from here. Does she take Lena home? Does Lena take her home? Would Lena go for a walk through the park and get ice cream with her? That’s certainly preferable to either of the first two options right now, so while Lena signs the check, she makes the suggestion.

“That sounds great,” Lena beams, and Kara jumps to her feet a little too eagerly.  
  
She lets Lena steer her out of the restaurant, so she doesn’t accidentally destroy anything, but once they’re out on the sidewalk, she takes Lena’s hand and offers her a smile. Lena returns it without hesitation and lets Kara tug her closer. “Thank you,” Kara says softly, as they amble toward the park. “For dinner, for taking me to this restaurant that was clearly made for me.”  
  
“It was my pleasure,” Lena says warmly. 

They walk in silence, but it’s comfortable, and Kara is hyper aware of Lena’s hand clasped in hers, of the scent of her perfume, of the steady beating of her heart. At one point, her brain tells her she’s actually on a date with the woman she’s come to consider her best friend, and it almost becomes too much again. But then they stop at a crosswalk, and Lena briefly leans her head on Kara’s shoulder, and everything—for just that one moment—is perfect. 

At the ice cream stand, Kara gets a waffle cone with three different kinds of ice cream and rainbow sprinkles, and Lena laughs at her as she orders black raspberry frozen yogurt. The ice cream makes Kara giddy again, and she doesn’t even notice that Lena had paid for it until they’re halfway through the park. 

“Oh, dang,” she mutters. “I was going to treat you.”  
  
“Next time,” Lena promises easily, and pulls Kara’s arm through her own.  
  
“Next time,” Kara agrees, thrilled there will be a next time. 

When they emerge into the city again, Kara throws away their trash and asks if Lena would like to be taken home. “Not yet,” Lena murmurs, reaching for Kara’s hand. 

“Yeah. Not yet,” Kara says, pulling her close. 

They wander the city for almost another hour. For that evening they’re just another couple on their first date, and Kara doesn’t even hear the noises of the city like Supergirl would. 

It’s past eleven when they find themselves in front of Lena’s apartment building. “Would it be too forward of me to invite you in?” Lena asks, gently teasing, but Kara blushes anyway. 

“I’ve…been to your apartment before,” she mumbles, and Lena laughs.  
  
“Then come upstairs,” she urges, and tugs Kara inside. 

Kara slides her arm around Lena’s waist as they stand in the elevator, and Lena rests against her shoulder as if it’s the most natural thing in the world. “Thank you, for tonight,” Kara murmurs.

“Thank you for getting me to finally ask you on a date,” Lena says, and they both laugh shyly.  
  
When the elevator reaches the penthouse, Lena takes Kara’s hand again and leads her inside. Usually, they head straight for the couch, and Lena lets Kara pull up something from her Netflix queue, but tonight…everything feels different. Lena heads toward the couch, but Kara hangs back.  
  
“What’s wrong, Kara?” Lena asks, holding out her hand.  
  
“Are we…just going to watch TV?” she asks, and Lena smiles gently at her confusion.  
  
“Well, we are only halfway through _Orange Is the New Black_ ,” she offers. 

“Lena… How are you so calm?” Kara asks. Her own heartbeat is thundering in her ears, but Lena’s is steady as ever. 

“Are you nervous, sweetheart?” Lena asks gently. “I was nervous, until you arrived at the restaurant. But we’ve done this before, haven’t we?”  
  
“Yes, but it’s different,” Kara says.  
  
“Different how?” Lena asks patiently, and Kara feels her heart flip. She’s not asking because she’s confused about the way Kara’s acting. She’s asking so Kara will put words to her feelings, so they can both understand, and move on.  
  
“Because…tonight, I think… I’d like to kiss you,” Kara says quietly, refusing to meet Lena’s eyes.  
  
“Well, that’s lucky,” Lena teases, her voice all affection and sweetness, and Kara raises her eyes from the floor. 

And then Lena steps forward, easily closing the distance between them, and kisses her. It’s a short kiss, over before Kara can really process it, and when Lena pulls away, her whole body protests. She has never felt anything like that from just a kiss. Lena smiles a little bit at her dazed expression and reaches up to carefully smooth her hair. “Are you all right?” she asks, and Kara nods and carefully leans in to kiss her again. 

This time, her body remembers how to do this, how to pull Lena into her arms, how to move her mouth against Lena’s. Her fingers tangle themselves in Lena’s hair, and that’s new—but entirely welcome. While her body seems to be doing everything right, her brain still can’t believe this is happening. And when Lena pulls back and begins kissing along her jaw, her brain nearly short circuits.  
  
Lena realizes she’s not keeping up, and gently kisses her forehead. “Let’s take this slowly,” she says, as if it’s all her own suggestion, and Kara nods, still dazed. “Sweetheart,” Lena say softly, and Kara shivers at the pet name again. “It’s just me.”

“Oh, but there’s no ‘just’ you, Lena,” Kara says, shaking her head slowly. “You’re wonderful and amazing—so smart and so beautiful and so-so poised. I keep feeling like a bumbling idiot, and you keep putting me at ease.”

“But you’ve never been this way around me before,” Lena says, amused, and Kara shrugs helplessly.

“Sure I have. I guess I just…tried harder to hide it? So you would think I’m normal. And of course I’m not normal anyway, but…”  
  
“All right, Supergirl,” Lena says, stilling her flailing. “Come. Let’s just watch TV. You can do the cough and put your arm around me move, and I will pretend it’s the smoothest thing I’ve ever seen.”  
  
That gets a laugh out of Kara that finally expels most of her fluttering nervousness. “Okay, I can do that,” Kara decides, and revels in the smile Lena gives her. 

Now this part is all familiar, getting comfortable on the couch, calling up Netflix, singing along with the opening credits while Lena laughs at her. She doesn’t wait very long before she coughs and stretches and pulls Lena into her arms, and Lena chuckles fondly as she rests her head on Kara’s shoulder. “Very smooth, Ms. Danvers.”

“Hmm?” Kara says with studied casualness, and they’re both briefly overcome by laughter. 

Then Lena settles against her more comfortably, and they watch their show. “It could have been like this, all along,” Kara murmurs at one point.  
  
Lena lifts her head up, looking at her quizzically. “This,” Kara says, gesturing to them, the couch, the TV. “I could have been holding you like this…way earlier.”  
  
“Don’t think like that,” Lena counsels. “There’s no sense in rushing things. And we’re here now, yes?”  
  
“Yes,” Kara breathes, and Lena kisses her cheek before settling back against her shoulder. 

Just before the episode ends, Kara realizes Lena’s breathing has changed and that she’s fallen asleep. The fact that Lena feels so comfortable with her to fall asleep in her arms makes her heart feel so full. And for a few moments she lets herself fantasize about Lena falling asleep like this much more often. 

It’s after midnight now, so Kara figures it’s probably time for her to head home. In one swift movement, she has Lena cradled in her arms. As she pads down the hallway toward her bedroom, Lena wakes up. “Oh. Supergirl. What happened to Kara?” she asks playfully, and Kara laughs.  
  
“I just wanted to be sure you made it to bed,” Kara says softly, setting Lena on her feet.  
  
“Very chivalrous as always,” Lena replies, and she leans up to press a gentle kiss against Kara’s lips.  
  
“Thank you, for tonight,” Kara blushes, clasping her hands behind her back.  
  
“The pleasure was all mine.” Lena walks her back toward the elevator, and Kara lets a small grin spread across her face.  
  
“Lunch tomorrow?” she offers, and Lena nods.  
  
“I’ll pick you up at noon.”

The elevator dings, and all of a sudden, Kara isn’t ready to leave. But she also isn’t ready to spend the night. So she kisses Lena again, long and full, and they’re both breathless when they part. “Well. Goodnight, Kara.”  
  
“Goodnight, Lena,” Kara stammers, and steps into the elevator. 


	2. Chapter 2

Kara spends the next morning mostly in a daze, thinking about Lena’s goodnight kiss. Snapper is about ready to murder her, but she can’t find it in herself to care. After collecting her criticisms and assignments, she waltzes into James’s office. “Hey! You look…radiantly happy,” he says, grinning at her, and she blushes. 

“I had a good night last night.”

“Yeah? That’s great, K. You wanna get lunch?” he offers, and she’s about to tell him she already has plans when her phone buzzes. 

“Ugh, it’s Alex,” she sighs. “What’s happening?” she asks her sister.

“Some kind of power disturbance, a block north of Catco,” Alex reports.

“On it!” she says, smiling apologetically at James, and dashes off. 

Five minutes later, Lena appears outside of James’s office, and he finds himself smiling and going to greet her. “Oh, James, hello,” she says, with a genuine smile. “I was told Kara had just gone to see you.”

“She was just here. But I am afraid she had to, uh, fly,” he says, and Lena laughs. “Anything I can help with?”

“Oh, no, we just had a lunch date,” Lena says easily, and James finds himself offering to take her to lunch instead. 

And instead of protesting, Lena smiles again and takes his arm. He takes her to his favorite spot, a little café two blocks over, where they both order kale and quinoa bowls and fondly talk about how nice it is to avoid Kara’s propensity for junk food. “James, I have never seen her eat a vegetable,” Lena says, pretending concern, and he laughs. 

“Would you, though, if you had her physiology?”

“Yes!” she insists, and he shakes his head.

“You actually…like this stuff, Lena?”

“Well. Yes,” she says, but she’s frowning, and he’s smirking, and she just sighs and rolls her eyes. “Some of it I like. But maybe if I never ate kale again, I wouldn’t be devastated.”

“Mmm. Kale is way too popular,” he agrees, even as he puts another forkful of it into his mouth. “So Kara’s been wandering around the office in a daze this morning. You know what’s up with her?” he asks, not expecting Lena’s response to be turning a very vivid shade of red. 

“Ehm, well. I took her out to dinner last night,” she says quietly, stabbing distractedly at her lunch. 

“Oh, yeah? Did you guys find that dumpling place?” he asks, teasing gently. He quickly catches on, but decides Lena needs some light hazing if she’s going to join the family. 

“Oh, well, yes,” Lena says, and James can’t help the laugh that bubbles up. He hadn’t counted on actually being right.

But then he waits for Lena to look up at him, and he grins widely. “Just messin’ with you,” he says. “I’m glad. You clearly make her very happy.”

“I hope so,” she says quietly, her eyes soft, and he feels a small pang of jealousy, but it fades quickly. He and Kara…didn’t work, and that was okay. 

He’s happy to see her happy. And to have a new member of the family. 

\--

It’s nearly dark by the time Lena decides she’s done enough work for the day. She stands up, stretching and yawning. When she turns toward the door, she is startled to see a figure on her balcony. But of course it’s just Kara.

“Why, Supergirl,” she drawls, going to open the door. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“I’m sorry about lunch,” Kara says, almost bashful, and Lena smiles. 

“This isn’t the first time Supergirl’s interrupted our plans.”

“Yeah, but this… Felt different. Also, I really wanted to see you.”

“I wanted to see you too,” Lena murmurs, reaching for Kara’s hand. “I had lunch with James when I discovered you had disappeared.”

“Did you?” Kara asks, clearly delighted, and grabs up both of Lena’s hands. “Oh god, did he bore you with his latest diet plan? He is obsessed with being fit lately—I mean, he’s always been fit, but like. That’s all he wants to talk about now. You know he works out in his office? Ms. Grant threw a fit when she came back last summer.”

“Do you think it has anything to do with being friends with two superheroes?” Lena laughs, and Kara nods thoughtfully.

“Okay, fine. But he’s never going to catch up to me and Clark, so—Anyway! I’m glad you’re hanging out with James now.”

“Also, I may have told him we started dating,” she says shyly, but Kara just grins.

“Oh, good. Now I just have to tell Winn. Oh! We usually go to the bar on Fridays after work. Come with me?”

“I’d love to,” Lena says warmly, and Kara leans forward and kisses her quickly. 

“Have you had dinner? I’ve been wrangling escaped alienettes, and I am starving.”

“Mmm, take me home, and I’ll order all your favorites from Giant of Siam,” Lena says, adoring the way Kara lights up at her offer.

“You’re perfect. Did you know? So perfect,” she says, sweeping Lena into her arms.

“Wait!” Lena tries to protest, but they’re already in the air by the time the word makes it out of her mouth. She wraps her arms tightly around Kara’s neck. “This is not what I meant.”

“Sorry,” Kara says, slowing down so that they’re basically hovering over downtown. “I got a little carried away. But this is way quicker.”

“I know. I just…hate…flying,” Lena gulps, squeezing her eyes shut.

“I’m very good at flying,” Kara promises, and Lena manages a laugh, but it sounds strangled. 

But before she knows it, Kara is setting her on her feet on the penthouse balcony, and she is drawing a deep breath—but still clinging to Kara. “Oh, well, I can carry you inside if you like, Ms. Luthor,” Kara teases, and Lena blushes and manages to unhook her arms. 

She slides open the balcony door and kind of totters inside, still unsteady from her short flight. Kara reaches out, a gentle hand on her waist, and guides her to the kitchen island. “Sit. I’ll call the takeout. And fix you a drink?” she offers, moving around the kitchen as if she does this every day. 

She places the menu for Giant of Siam in front of Lena, then stands up on her tiptoes to reach the bottle of scotch Lena has hidden on top of the fridge. “It wasn’t that bad,” Lena laughs, and Kara puts the scotch back, grinning at her. “There’s a bottle of wine in the rack. That’ll be fine.”

“Certainly,” Kara says playfully, but when she tries to uncork the bottle, she crushes the neck, and glass and deep red liquid go everywhere. 

“Kara!” Lena says, alarmed, but of course she is uninjured and just turns to her, looking sheepish.

“I am very sorry,” she says, swallowing hard. “I will get this cleaned up.”

And before Lena can protest, Kara has disposed of the broken glass and mopped up the spilled wine. “There, uh, might be some left that’s salvageable?” she says, gingerly offering Lena the remains of the bottle. 

“Get the scotch,” she says, but she smiles, so Kara laughs and dutifully pours her a glass of the whiskey.

“Chicken satay, drunken noodles, summer rolls?” Kara asks, without either of them actually looking at the menu. Lena nods, slowly sipping her drink, as Kara taps out the number for the restaurant on her phone.

“And then get changed out of your suit. I’ll have it cleaned,” she says, and Kara glances down at the wine stains on the crest of El.

“Oh brother. My super suit is no match for your merlot!” She beams at Lena, who shakes her head to hide her smile. “Uh, yes! Order for delivery please?” she says, startled by the answering of the phone on the other end. She rattles off their order and then hangs up, leaning over to kiss Lena’s forehead before disappearing into her bedroom.

And this is like so many evenings they’ve spent together already—even Kara’s easy affection—but the subtle shift, the deepening of the affection feels like everything is finally falling into place. And even though Lena has caught herself pining for Kara over the past few months, she realizes this was exactly the right pace for their relationship. 

“You’re much less nervous than you were last night,” Lena remarks, when Kara returns wearing a pair of gray yoga pants and an old MIT sweatshirt. “Where did you find that?”

“In your closet! It’s very soft,” Kara says brightly, rubbing her arms. “Also, I kind of…thought about you all day? And now that I know we’re on the same page, there’s no reason to be nervous.”

Lena smiles slowly and slides off her stool to go to Kara, who grins at her and leans down to meet her kiss. “I’m glad,” she says softly. 

“Your turn to get comfy,” Kara says, gently nudging her in the direction of her bedroom. “My turn to pick Netflix?”

“It’s always your turn to pick Netflix, Kara,” Lena says, shaking her head, as she heads to her room. 

“Oh, all right. I’ll call up the documentaries page,” Kara calls after her, and she barely holds in her laughter. 

When she returns to the living room, Kara is sitting cross-legged on the couch, the Netflix documentaries section on the TV screen, as she taps away at her phone. “Okay, I found three that actually look good,” she says, looking up. “This one on National Parks, this one on penguins, and this one on the future of AI.”

“Penguins, please,” Lena says, collapsing onto the couch beside her. 

“Yeah? I checked—Netflix says you haven’t watched the AI one yet.”

Lena smiles and lets her head fall to Kara’s shoulder. Kara instantly pulls an arm around her and settles her more comfortably. “It’s been a long day. I’m in the mood for penguins.”

“Okay,” Kara laughs. She picks up her phone to tap out a text message and then sets it on the coffee table. “Alex is teasing me about speeding right to your office after I finished Supergirl stuff,” she divulges, and Lena smiles. 

“So Alex…doesn’t—I mean, she’s…”

“No, apparently Alex has known I liked you for…months? I’m kind of an idiot about these things. But she is fully supportive. You saved her life, you know?”

“Oh, well. She had just saved mine,” Lena mutters, and Kara gently kisses her head. 

“You’re part of the family now, Lee,” she says, and Lena’s heart thuds painfully against her ribs. 

She looks up at Kara, slightly overawed, and Kara just smiles warmly back at her. “I’m not great at families, Kara,” she says in a small voice. 

“I know,” Kara says reassuringly. “I promise this one will be good to you.”

Lena shakes her head a little, and Kara strokes her hair. “It…already has been,” Lena murmurs, and takes immense comfort from Kara’s blinding grin.


	3. Chapter 3

Kara wakes with a jolt, surprised that she’d fallen asleep. She’d been really interested in the penguins. But she’d had a long day of Supergirling, and she’d been so cozy on the couch with Lena. To her delight, she finds that Lena is fast asleep with her head in her lap. She remembers Lena getting more comfortable after they’d finished dinner, remembers running her fingers through soft, dark hair.

Part of her would like to stay on the couch like this forever, but she decides she’d better clean up the empty takeout cartons and get Lena to bed. She carefully puts one of the couch pillows under Lena’s head before speedily tidying up. Lena shifts on the couch but doesn’t wake up, as Kara checks her phone. It’s almost two am, so she carefully lifts Lena into her arms and carries her down the hall. 

“Kara?” Lena murmurs as Kara sets her on the bed. 

“Hey. We fell asleep watching the penguins,” Kara says softly, and Lena laughs. “Thank you, for tonight.” She kisses Lena gently. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Stay,” Lena says, reaching for her hand, and Kara’s heart stops. “Just to sleep,” Lena clarifies, sensing her nervousness. “It’s late.”

“Okay,” Kara agrees and climbs into bed beside Lena, heart thudding. 

Lena takes her arm and pulls her into spooning her, and Kara laughs fondly. “Goodnight, Kara,” Lena yawns.

“Goodnight,” Kara replies, and pulls the covers up over both of them. 

She wonders if she’ll be able to fall asleep again, as every single one of her senses is attuned to Lena, the warmth of her body, the quiet sounds of her breathing, the way she smells—like fancy perfume and fabric softener and too much chili sauce. But it’s the steady rhythm of her heartbeat, the way Lena is so completely at ease in her arms that ends up soothing Kara enough to fall back to sleep. 

“I could do this…every night,” she thinks as she drifts off. 

The next thing she knows is Lena’s alarm going off, and Lena yawns and rolls out of her arms to turn it off. “Good morning,” Kara says, sitting up, feeling slightly bashful again.

“You stayed,” Lena says, smiling. 

“Oh. You asked me to,” Kara stammers, and Lena kisses her cheek.

“Thank you,” she says, and hops off the bed. 

She disappears into the bathroom, and Kara decides to be useful. In a flash, she has a pot of coffee brewing and eggs cooking on the stove. She hums as she cooks, feeling lighter than she has in months. There’s nothing complicated about this; they’ve recovered from Rhea, from Supergirl, from everything that’s put up obstacles in their relationship. And now…everything is easy.

Kara knows better than to believe everything will be easy forever, but she also knows to enjoy it while it is. So the humming turns into singing as she toasts two English muffins before rummaging in the fridge for half and half. 

When Lena appears from the bathroom, mostly dressed for work, Kara is putting two plates out on the kitchen table. “Hello,” she says brightly, and hands Lena a mug of coffee.

“I don’t usually eat breakfast before work,” Lena says, amused.

“But it’s the most important meal of the day,” Kara says, pretending to be scandalized, and Lena laughs. 

“This looks delicious, Kara, thank you.”

“Oh, you’re welcome,” Kara blushes. 

They both eat quickly, because they are both running late, and Kara still has to go home to change. “You’re coming to the bar tonight, yes?” Kara asks, putting their dishes into the dishwasher.

“Yes,” Lena says. 

“Good, I’ll pick you up at seven,” Kara says, and kisses her cheek. “Don’t work too hard.”

“Oh, Kara. Your suit,” Lena remembers, but Kara just shrugs, absently patting the wine stains on her sleeves. 

“No worries. It’s gone through worse. Remember, seven o’clock,” she says, and then she is gone.

Lena watches the window long after Kara has disappeared from view and then shakes herself and heads to work.

\--

“Ms. Danvers!” No matter how often Kara drops by, Lena’s assistant is always surprised to see her. “Um, did you—”

“No appointment, Jess,” Kara says kindly. “It’s Friday night. Shouldn’t you be leaving?”

“Um, yes, but—”

“Thank you!” Kara says, breezing by before Jess has a chance to react. 

“Are you tormenting my assistant again, Ms. Danvers?” Lena asks, meeting Kara at the door to her office.

“Tormenting? Never,” Kara says indignantly, turning to Jess, who is blushing. 

Lena just grins and tugs Kara inside. “Don’t worry about her, Jess,” she advises. “I can deal with her.”

“Deal with me?” Kara laughs, following Lena to her desk. “You are done with work, yes? I even gave you until 7:05.”

“Can you give me until 7:15?” Lena asks, offering her most winning smile, and Kara’s knees feel weak. 

“All right,” she says, making herself comfortable on the couch. “If you tell Jess to go home.”

“Certainly. Jess,” Lena pages, “you’re free to go.”

“Thank you, Ms. Luthor. Have a nice evening,” Jess replies. 

“You as well,” Lena says pleasantly as she types furiously at her laptop.

“Lee,” Kara whines, after two minutes, “what on earth could be so important at seven o’clock on a Friday?”

“This proposal I’m already behind on. If I don’t finish it now, I’ll never be able to run it past the board,” Lena says, frowning at her screen. 

Kara sighs but doesn’t argue. Lena can be very single-minded, and after a year of friendship, Kara has mostly learned how to pick her battles. 

But as soon as the clock ticks to 7:15, Kara is on her feet, arms crossed, doing her best to look imposing. Lena looks up from her work and tries to swallow her smile. “Oh. Kara, the Supergirl posing really doesn’t work when you’re wearing a cardigan,” she teases, and Kara laughs in spite of herself. 

“Are you done, then? Winn has sent me three texts. Alex and Maggie are bullying him, apparently.”

“Oh? And how well will they receive me, then?” Lena asks, picking up her purse. 

Her voice is smooth, but Kara catches the underlying anxiety. “Oh, they’ll be on their best behavior with you,” she promises brightly. “Alex treats Winn like the little brother she never had, and Maggie likes to pile on.”

“You know, despite the fact that your sister saved my life almost as soon as I got to National City, I’ve never really spoken to her,” Lena remarks, and Kara nods.

“I know. But don’t worry. You both like me so much, you’re sure to like each other.” She grins at Lena, who just shakes her head.

But then she smiles and kisses Kara before taking her arm. “I’m sure we can find at least one thing besides you in common,” she says, and Kara nods dutifully. 

When they get to the bar, Winn practically rushes to greet them. “Kara, okay, you have to—I mean… They are just really piling it on,” Winn says, handing her a beer. “Lena! Hey! What are you drinking?”

“Hello, Winn. Scotch and soda, thanks,” she says, and he happily turns back toward the bar. 

“Oh, well, well, look who finally showed up,” Maggie says, eyeing them. 

Lena’s grip on Kara’s arm tightens slightly, and Kara just rolls her eyes at Maggie. “I see you’ve been amusing yourself with Winn.”

“He is… a little too easy to torture. All I did was throw a dart next to his head.”

“And then I hid the darts behind the bar,” Alex says, before Kara can get mad, and Maggie just laughs. “Hey. Lena, how’s it going?” she asks, and Lena nods.

“Hello, Alex,” she says, nodding. “Detective Sawyer.”

“Oh come on, Luthor, we’re not going through that,” Maggie laughs, taking her arm and pulling her away from Kara. “My apologies for arresting you that one time, but now we’re like sisters in law, so enough.”

“Oh boy,” Kara mutters to Alex, who just laughs.

“This was your idea,” she taunts, and Kara frowns.

“Where is James?” she asks, hoping for one more ally for Lena. 

“Oh, I don’t know,” Alex replies, watching Maggie hand Lena her drink as Winn ducks away from her. “Hey. You are really…happy,” she notices, turning to look at her sister. 

Kara blushes and ducks her head, but nods. “Yeah.”

“She makes you this happy?” Alex asks, and Kara nods again. “Good,” Alex says with finality, and Kara’s heart warms. 

Lena and Maggie rejoin them, and Maggie demands a game of pool, and Alex groans. “Babe. You’re terrible at pool. I have been trying to let you win for a year, and you still lose.”

“Because I’m letting you win!” Maggie blusters, and without waiting for a response, goes to a table to rack the balls. 

“Have you heard from James?” Kara asks Winn, as Alex reluctantly goes to pick cue sticks up from the rack on the wall.

“Oh, yeah, he had some kind of last minute meeting. He is on his way now,” Winn answers, holding up his phone. 

“Well,” Kara says, taking the two sticks Alex hands her. “Be my partner in pool?” she asks, offering one to Lena.

Lena laughs and accepts it, kissing Kara’s cheek, before heading to the table to taunt Maggie. “Well, they’re getting along like a house on fire,” Alex remarks, as Maggie lights up at Lena’s attempts at trash talk. 

“That’s…somewhat concerning,” Kara realizes. “What if they gang up on us?”

Alex laughs and kisses her head. “No one can take down the Danvers sisters,” she assures Kara. 

“Hey! Luthor’s on my team,” Maggie announces, grinning wickedly at the Danvers sisters.

“Your funeral,” Kara replies, setting her beer down, but instead of trying to look intimidating, she just grins at Lena. 

“This is not going to end well,” Winn predicts. 

“Hey,” Alex says, glaring at him, and he practically runs from her. 

“Well? Shall we?” Lena asks, coolly chalking her cue stick. She winks at Kara, who laughs delightedly. 

Not twenty minutes later, all smiles have been wiped from Kara’s and Alex’s faces. “No one can take down the Danvers sisters, huh?” Maggie asks slyly, as Lena lines up her shot on the eight ball.

“I may have underestimated Lena,” Alex says stiffly. 

“Me too,” Kara admits.

“Not me,” Winn says with a grin.

Lena sinks the ball easily, and Maggie whoops triumphantly. “Yeah. Underestimate a Luthor at your peril,” new arrival James says, handing drinks to the victors. 

“Hey,” Kara says sharply, but Lena shakes her head. 

“He didn’t mean it that way,” she says, and James smiles apologetically. 

“Rematch?” Maggie asks. 

“Play Winn and James,” Alex says, throwing her cue stick down. 

“Oh, I’m not—” Winn protests, but James slaps the dropped stick into his hands. 

“Come on. Let’s show Sawyer up.”

“Oh, we can beat Maggie. It’s Lena we can’t beat,” Winn says, while Lena just smiles from across the table. 

“Who else needs drinks? Also you are amazing,” Kara says, dropping a kiss on Lena’s head. 

“Winn needs a drink for sure,” Maggie laughs, and Kara takes Alex to the bar as James racks the balls and Winn tries to put on his tough guy face. 

“This is going well,” Kara gushes. “I wish I had made you guys hang out with Lena earlier. She definitely needs more friends.”

“I am kind of…surprised by how much Maggie likes her,” Alex says, frowning slightly.

“Why? Lena’s amazing,” Kara says, and Alex pretends to gag. “Shut up. What? You think Maggie’s up to something?”

“Not to mess with Lena. To mess with me—us,” Alex says, and Kara rolls her eyes.

“Enough shenanigans.” She collects drinks for herself, Winn, and James and leads Alex back to the pool table. 

Winn and James, who are already in the midst of being soundly beaten, accept the drinks gladly. Alex decides to try to flirt with Maggie to distract her but gets swatted away. Kara knows better than to interfere and just stands by a tall table to watch. 

James actually puts up a decent fight against Lena, while Maggie and Winn compete to see who is actually the worst at pool. But in the end, Lena wins again, and Maggie crows, and James and Winn just laugh, defeated. 

“All right, enough pool,” Alex decides, smirking at Maggie, who finally relents and smacks a kiss against her cheek. 

“You’re a gracious loser, Alex,” she says, and Alex just shakes her head. 

Kara goes to Lena and slides her arm around her waist. “I had no idea you were so good at pool.”

Lena shrugs. “I’m good at a lot of things,” she says casually, making Kara giggle. 

“All right, what do we say to pizza and movies at Alex’s?” James asks, and Alex narrows her eyes, but Kara is already ordering the pizzas. 

“What? Your place is the biggest,” James says innocently.

“I bet Lena’s place is the biggest,” Alex counters, and Lena laughs. 

“I’d be happy to host pizza and movie night,” she says, and everyone cheers. 

“You don’t have to,” Kara says quietly, as James herds everyone out of the bar.

“It’s my pleasure, Kara, really,” Lena insists, and Kara leans over to kiss her.

“Thank you. I’m so glad you’re having a good time.”

“Me too,” Lena says lightly, and Kara takes her hand, squeezing gently. 

“Kara, you’d better have ordered something with vegetables on it,” Maggie says, as she hops onto Alex’s bike behind her. 

“What is a vegetable?” Kara asks, and Alex snickers.

“I’m serious,” Maggie practically pleads, and Kara relents.

“I ordered you a spinach salad, Maggie,” she promises, as Alex kicks the bike into gear. 

“Maggie gets a spinach salad? And what do I get?” Lena asks playfully.

“Oh, uh, you like pizza, right?” Kara fumbles, and Lena knocks against her shoulder. 

“Yes, I like pizza. But please tell me at least one of them does have vegetables?” she asks, and Maggie hoots with laughter. 

“This is how they get us, Alex,” Kara realizes. “We’re going to start having to eat vegetables.”

And the four of them practically howl with laughter.

\--

Six pizzas—one veggie supreme because Kara is not stupid—and two movies later, Maggie and Winn have fallen asleep leaning against each other on the floor, Kara is sprawled out across the love seat, and Alex, Lena, and James are quietly cleaning up. 

“Thanks for hosting, on such short notice and all, Lena,” James says, tying up a bag of trash. 

“Yeah, my place was not ready for this madness,” Alex adds, and grins at her. 

“Oh, well, it was my pleasure,” Lena says, piling the pizza boxes into James’s waiting arms. 

“Back in a flash,” he promises, and cheerfully heads out with the detritus of the evening’s festivities. 

“You’ve been good for her, Lena,” Alex says quietly. “She… She’s been really happy this week, for the first time in a long time.”

“So have I,” Lena says softly, almost without thinking, then looks up at Alex, blushing.

Alex smiles gently. “I’m glad you came to hang out tonight. Although I am a little concerned about this alliance with Maggie.”

Lena laughs, letting relief fill her lungs. “I think… She figured out just what to say to draw me in. And if we end up tormenting the unstoppable Danvers sisters a little bit, well. It’s always her idea.”

That gets a genuine laugh out of Alex, who shakes her head before putting her hand on Lena’s shoulder. “Then you’d just better be prepared for payback.”

“Oh, Agent Danvers. I’m always prepared,” Lena charms, and it’s all Alex can do not to collapse with laughter.


End file.
